An anonymous early investor in Ethereum reactivated a wallet that had been dormant for about nine years to secure profit amid the current quarterly rally. According to analytics tracker Lookonchain, this address acquired 3,000 ETH in 2017 at an average price of $18.8 per coin, investing $56,500. This week, the wallet owner transferred 1,000 ETH to a Kraken deposit address. The investor sold 2,000 ETH at an average price of $3,096, receiving $6.19 million. The net profit from the sold assets reached $8.8 million (156-fold return), while the remaining 1,000 ETH ($2.67 million) are still in the account.
Asset trading occurs against the backdrop of Ethereum's historical profitability. According to CryptoRank data, the third quarter of 2026 was the most successful for Ethereum, with a profit of +72.7%. This growth followed a decline of -29.1% in the first quarter and -25.3% in the second quarter. Historically, the third quarter has been the weakest for Ethereum, with an average profit of only +9.11% and a median profit of +4.55%. The current growth surpassed even the outstanding third quarter of 2020 with +59.2%, creating favorable conditions for long-term holders.
Other large holders have also begun securing profits. In the last week of September 2026, more than 112,000 ETH ($300 million) was transferred to the Bitfinex platform from an investor who acquired these assets in 2023, and an OTC deal for 42,005 ETH ($111.9 million) was completed. Asset movement also occurred on the Bitcoin network: two wallets, inactive for over four years, moved about 4,500 BTC each to new addresses, totaling approximately $380 million. Despite the actions of long-term holders, the market remains resilient. Established Ethereum ETFs continue to attract institutional investments, registering net inflows for seven consecutive days, totaling more than $689.8 million in the last reporting period. Their total assets under management reached $17.69 billion, accounting for about 5.4% of Ethereum's total capitalization.
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